Claris Construction Inc President and Fairfield Hills Authority member Phil Clark unfolded drafts of an ice arena, to be situated next to the NYA Sports & Fitness Center at the back of Fairfield Hills. As reported earlier this month, NYA founder and former owner Peter D'Amico has joined with former National Hockey League (NHL) player Bob Crawford and his co-owner/operator of skating rinks, Alan Lazowski, to pitch plans for a rink that would be added to the existing NYA complex at Fairfield Hills.

"We met with the group interested in a rink in conjunction with the NYA," said Deputy Director of Economic and Community Development Christal Preszler during a Fairfield Hills Authority meeting March 26. Although they have expressed interest, plans are "still very preliminary," she said.

As a private enterprise, the arena is "an accepted use," according to the campus master plan, said authority member Michael Holmes.

Other arena proposals in the past several years have come to the authority's attention and occupied lengthy discussion, but "there was just no money for it," said Chairman Ross Carley. "It's exciting if a private entity comes in and builds this," he said. He referred to other Connecticut-based arenas that are busy, he said.

Member Terry Sagedy cautioned that prior ice rink proposals never materialized. As the town in past years had planned for its new community center, which broke ground over the winter, discussion for an ice rink component for that facility included mention that it could be hard to staff, and hard to manage. Final community center planning did not include a rink. Since the arena near NYA would be private, staffing, etc, is not "our burden."

What if the town had to take over the facility if it failed? Mr Sagedy asked.

"The people coming in have a great success rate with rinks," Mr Carley said. "They know how to run it." He also added that activities at the NYA "are not going to stop. The rink is an addition."

Mr Clark spread drawings before authority members and indicated that a courtyard behind the NYA might not be an ideal location for the rink. Adjacent to the sports facility would offer better access and parking.

Mr Clark anticipates a future, more formal presentation, and that the owners wanted to "dig in the summer," and break ground. "They want this open," he said. The rink would serve as a year-round facility.

Newtown-based Claris Construction Inc, which was behind the original NYA building project, will be hired for the skating rink addition, Mr D'Amico said.

Experience Mr Crawford and Mr Lazowski bring to the table include 23 years of ice facility management, including overseeing national award-winning staff, programs, and events. This includes Champions Skating Center, International Skating Center of Connecticut, Bolton Ice Palace, The New England Athletic Club, and Bushnell Park Skating Rink.

Mr D'Amico and Mr Crawford are optimistic and say the rink, which should cost between $4 and $5 million for them to develop, could be up and running as early as January 2019.